Qantas is considering moving its offices and aviation facilities within Australia as part of its recovery plan and efforts to cut costs, the airline said in a statement posted on its website.

The Australian carrier says the move could result in bringing together several facilities, currently spread across Australia, in one state.

The review will focus mainly on non-aviation facilities – including the national carrier’s leased 49,000 square metre head office in Mascot (Sydney) and Jetstar’s leased head office in Collingwood (Melbourne).

However, the airline adds that some aviation facilities will be considered for possible relocation, such as flight simulator centres currently in Sydney and Melbourne as well as Qantas’ heavy maintenance facilities in Brisbane.

The news follows the airline’s announcement last month that it will cut 6,000 jobs, about one fifth of its total workforce, due to the coronavirus crisis. Around 4,000 of its 6,000 planned job cuts are expected to be finalised by the end of this month.

The airline says the review and possible relocation of its facilities “flows from job losses already announced” of which 25 per cent of which were corporate and head office employees, as well as “the need for more efficiencies and setting the Group up for the future”.

Chief Financial Officer for the Qantas Group, Vanessa Hudson, said: “Like most airlines, the ongoing impact of Covid means we’ll be a much smaller company for a while. We’re looking right across the organisation for efficiencies, including our $40 million annual spend on leased office space.

“As well as simply rightsizing the amount of space we have, there are opportunities to consolidate some facilities and unlock economies of scale. For instance, we could co-locate the Qantas and Jetstar head offices in a single place rather than splitting them across Sydney and Melbourne.

“This is about setting the Qantas Group up for the long term as well as recovering from the Covid crisis. And we’re open minded about the outcome. It’s possible that our HQ stays where it is but becomes a lot smaller, and other facilities consolidate elsewhere. Or we could wind up with a single, all-purpose campus that brings together many different parts of the Group. These are all options we need to consider as we look to the future,” Hudson added.

To assist with the first phase of consolidation, Colliers International has been appointed to sublease about 25,000 square metres of surplus office space across Mascot, Melbourne CBD and Hobart.

The airline says a lease on a 230 square metre Sydney CBD office that is due to expire in October will not be renewed.

“The review is expected to take three months to determine preferred options. Any relocations are likely to be staggered over time (potentially years) dependent on what options are taken up,” Qantas said on its website.

qantas.com/